— Big SEC East stakes. If South Carolina wins on Saturday night their record would move to 2-0 in league play. That would give the Gamecocks a big early advantage in the battle for bowl pecking order and could position South Carolina as a dark horse contender in the East. If Kentucky wins on the road in Columbia it would be a huge start to conference play for the Cats, as this could be one of the tougher games on the program's 2017 schedule.

— Big home field advantage? Williams-Brice Stadium will be sold out and there's a blackout for Kentucky. Also, a record 14,600 South Carolina students have scooped up tickets for Saturday night's game. This is the Gamecocks' first home game of 2017 and fans will be eager to welcome home a team that many expected would be worse than 2-0 through games against NC State and Missouri.

— Competition factor? While NC State and Missouri aren't world beaters, much has been made of Kentucky's less than dominant performances against Southern Miss and Eastern Kentucky. Not many people expected the Wildcats to dominate the Golden Eagles on the road, but one angle many have played up is South Carolina's two wins over Power Five programs. Has that prepared USC better, and how good is this Kentucky team?

— Handling the atmosphere. See the Williams-Brice storyline above. Kentucky can't be swallowed up in a tide of emotion. The stadium will be electric. Keeping poise will be crucial. Fortunately, quarterback Stephen Johnson has played well enough in road games recently (ranging from satisfactory, against USM, to outstanding against Louisville late last year). But there are center issues, and you never know how your team will respond to a huge road atmosphere. This isn't Kentucky's first true road game but there will be three times as many people in Columbia, S.C., as were in Hattiesburg, Miss.

— Slowing down Samuel. Easier said than done. Deebo Samuel is one of the most electric players in the SEC and he already has five touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing, two on kickoff returns) through two games. He's the difference between 2-0 and 0-2. South Carolina does have other players to account for, but Samuel is the one who can tip a close game by himself. Part of this is special teams-related, especially Austin MacGinnis' need to put kicks in the right spots with the right hang time, and his coverage unit's need to be sound if Samuel does field the ball.

— Be the opportunistic team. South Carolina is probably fortunate to be 2-0 because of their yardage deficit against NC State (it was large) but they do have a formula to play opportunistic football: Sound defense, a good quarterback, an explosive special teams player. Kentucky needs to be the opportunistic team on Saturday night. What does that entail? Winning the turnover battle, making the big special teams play, converting third downs and red zone situations, scoring off turnovers. UK doesn't have to win all of those battles, but they have to win some.